Several years ago I began collecting Santa in his various incarnations.  I grew up with the typical American Santa in his red suit.  I prefer, however, the old world versions. 

 I must admit, I did break down and buy a whimsical Santa piece from the gift shop at work last year when they had all Santas discounted.  I think he lights up and plays music too, however, I’ve never bothered to put batteries in…here is a picture of it.

This just never got put away after Christmas.  Oh well.  As it was new, it was the only Santa figure out.  Even though we had the Christmas celebration at our house, I did not pull everything out to decorate as I was heavily pregnant at the time.

In collecting Santas, I did not neglect the needlework variety.  I have 4 large designs that I thought I would like to combine to make a tree skirt.  Now that one of them is stitched, I am re-thinking that idea.  The stitched Santa is the Nordic Santa in this post.

I have two other small Santas stitched:

 This design was an ornament kit that hubby stitched.  We changed out the original white Aida for some with a heathered look that was also a lower thread count.  This made the finished stitching too large for the provided backing and oval, so I finished it as a mini-stocking.  I think it took the longest to find the right cording for the trim.

 This one was a DayDreams kit so only the square in the middle is stitched.  The rest is matting.  Hubby also did the stitching on this one.

He has promised to stitch the other Santas for me as well.  I really love the designs but find cross stitch rather tedious any more, at least where the entire design is in cross stitch.

Related posts:

1. Our May Meeting
2. HC Gala Donation
3. Happy New Year!
4. Early Days
5. If Wishes Were Stitches

Tags: Finished Pieces, Needlework // Add Comment »